To all those waiting to sign a petition for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recall, stop. Enough already.
The attempt to recall Gov. Gray Davis, whether or not it succeeds, was wrong. And should Schwarzenegger replace him, as the latest polls suggest, it would be equally wrong to recall him.
How can any state executive in America govern if he knows his state’s constitution allows for a petition-driven recall?
What happened to the days when an elected leader faced a recall only if he stole, embezzled, committed a felony or became involved in a scandal?
Perhaps our governor’s biggest fault was being non-communicative. He met the public when he was running for office, and then disappeared into the statehouse. He wasn’t good at keeping the public abreast of the problems the state faced. He also presided over the state during an economic bust fanned by the dot-com collapse.
But are these causes for removing him from office?
Few would deny the recall is politically motivated, setting a dangerous precedent that will encourage opposition leaders to recall any elected official of a rival party. The state could wind up like some nations, where votes of no confidence result in a collapse of the government.
What image does this give California in the rest of the country?
Well, if you’ve seen national news programs or read national news magazines, you’ve seen our state referred to as a circus.
This week our cover story profiles seven Jewish performers in this circus. If they were seeking publicity, they got it. If they want to tell their grandchildren that they ran for governor, they can do that. If they thought for a second that they had any chance at all of winning, they need a reality check.
Their entry into the race along with about 128 others (minus those who dropped out) is among the reasons California has become a laughingstock of the nation.
Is this a state a company wants to do business in? Is this a state that deserves higher credit ratings? Not with its teetering government. Already our credit rating bonds have been downgraded.
Do people think a new governor can turn things around anytime soon? If so, they are kidding themselves.
If there is a new governor, he or she must immediately find the money to replace an estimated $80 million spent on the recall. And of course there is a matter of a deficit waiting for the governor in the next fiscal year.
But let’s talk about the questions no one raised in the debates and in the ads.
If Californians replace Davis with Schwarzenegger, how can he accomplish anything surrounded by elected Democratic state officials and a state Senate and Assembly that are solidly in Democratic hands?
If Davis manages to beat the recall, how will he govern for the next three years? His margin of victory would undoubtedly be very small. And political leaders on both sides of the aisle will treat him as a lame duck.
Some political observers say that at this point it makes no difference who the governor is, as the state’s problems largely mirror those of the nation — with one exception. The Internet bubble started here and we still haven’t recovered from the boom days.
But the rest of the nation continues to suffer from a slowly recovering economy. Thousands are still out of work. And every state is suffering from lower tax receipts, coupled with increased demand for social services.
Is California’s situation Davis’ fault or the fault of the national economy? Can a new governor come in and turn things around? How, we wonder.
Nevertheless should Davis lose, we have to give the new governor a chance. We can hardly afford another recall.